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walter_the_wombat's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
missalessia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
why was bruce spying on her ðŸ˜ðŸ˜ anyway loving dinahbabs i can’t wait for the identity reveal and the dickbabs issue renergised me for 20 years
captwinghead's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars, if I'm feeling nice.
I've said it before, I can only recommend Gail Simone's volumes of this series. The first volume of Dixon's was meh and this one was worse, somehow. Save one haunting issue, the women are drawn as stereotypically as you'd expect (so thin at times it's a wonder they have any organs). The plots come just this side of almost being progressive before there's some chauvinist storyline to remind you that they are women (being written by men). And it's just... hard.
There were some things I liked: Dinah and Babs' relationship, Dinah finding out more about Babs, Babs going to the circus, Babs and Dinah kicking ass. That's it.
The "Ravens" were so bland I forgot about their arc immediately after it ended. I get that part of it was meant to contrast the trust in Dinah and Babs' partnership but it just made Cheshire look incompetent. I found Bruce's "Big Brother" act annoying. Dick pops in and he's not charming, he's smothering. The last arc with Dinah and the rapey Guy Gardner clone was just disgusting.
The Dick of it all was just hard to read. In all my jumping around in reading DC comics, I've only ever read the aftermath of DickBabs where they talk about how they ran their romantic relationship into the ground and in reading this issue of Birds of Prey, I think these two should never try to date ever again. I mean Cetus-Lupeedus, they're awful for each other.
Anyway, there was not enough good to outweigh the meh and the bad definitely outweighed the good so... not a recommend from me.
I've said it before, I can only recommend Gail Simone's volumes of this series. The first volume of Dixon's was meh and this one was worse, somehow. Save one haunting issue, the women are drawn as stereotypically as you'd expect (so thin at times it's a wonder they have any organs). The plots come just this side of almost being progressive before there's some chauvinist storyline to remind you that they are women (being written by men). And it's just... hard.
There were some things I liked: Dinah and Babs' relationship, Dinah finding out more about Babs, Babs going to the circus, Babs and Dinah kicking ass. That's it.
The "Ravens" were so bland I forgot about their arc immediately after it ended. I get that part of it was meant to contrast the trust in Dinah and Babs' partnership but it just made Cheshire look incompetent. I found Bruce's "Big Brother" act annoying. Dick pops in and he's not charming, he's smothering. The last arc with Dinah and the rapey Guy Gardner clone was just disgusting.
Spoiler
(And Supes has to save her from him so, go Girl Power! Am I right?)The Dick of it all was just hard to read.
Spoiler
Babs keeps telling him that her life is different now that she's in the chair, but she's found a new life and she's very happy with it. Those are her own words - and for some reason Dick keeps badgering her to say there's things she misses that she can't do now. It'd be one thing if Babs brought it up - but Dick essentially interrogates it out of her and it just seemed like he thought he knew what was best for her, better than Babs knew on her own. That's annoying - that's not cute. It's to set up him taking her to do the trapeze but that whole convo beforehand left such a gross taste in my mouth. Then it ends as though Dick's the victim because Babs won't take a chance and date him again. Which, yet again, is Dick presuming that he knows Babs better than she knows herself.Anyway, there was not enough good to outweigh the meh and the bad definitely outweighed the good so... not a recommend from me.
andrewb626's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
sarah_toast's review against another edition
4.0
I found this fun. I want to read the one where black canary meets oracle. And I thought there were more birds of prey on the team, oh well. I really really liked the side story with nightwing. Overall a fun read and a good amount of issues for a decent price.
carmine_b's review
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.0
It's Chuck Dixon and his work tends to not impress me, so.
tshepiso's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Birds of Prey Vol. 2 treads similar waters to Vol. 1 and because of that, it had similar highs and lows. I like a fun action-adventure story so while its plots were predictable I didn’t mind being swept along the ride. I especially loved the villain-centric Ravens arc and its time-travelling shenanigans. This series’ plots are best when they’re team-centric and lighthearted.
However, I’m still not fond of the white saviour narrative implicit in a lot of the stories in this series. The geo-politics of this book in general are pretty iffy and the issue dedicated to humanizing a brutal dictator is symbolic of the problems I have with the framing of the series.
Despite that, Barbara and Dinah's relationship continued to be a treat. These two have fantastic chemistry and their friendship is delightful. I did hope for more texture to their dynamic given the ups and downs of their relationship in Vol. 1 but what I got wasn’t all that disappointing.
Like in Vol. 1 Barbara was given some of the best character moments in the volume. Birds of Prey is very good at doing introspective exploration of the ways Barbara’s life and relationships have changed since to took up the mantle of Oracle. The issue dedicated to Barbara and Dick was a standout in this regard. However, the time and care Barbara gets highlight the comparative lack Dinah has been given so far in this series. While Barbara’s life outside of crimefighting gets significant page time Dinah is rarely given those moments making the series feel unbalanced.
The biggest improvement for this series was without a doubt the art. There was a much more consistent and appealing art style throughout this comic. From what I can tell illustrators Greg Land and Drew Geraci and colourist Gloria Vasquez consistently put out my favourite art in this volume and their style was mimicked pretty well when they weren’t on the creative team.
Birds of Prey Vol. 2 was more of the same, but I had fun with it. The characters were well-realized and the action was a treat.
However, I’m still not fond of the white saviour narrative implicit in a lot of the stories in this series. The geo-politics of this book in general are pretty iffy and the issue dedicated to humanizing a brutal dictator is symbolic of the problems I have with the framing of the series.
Despite that, Barbara and Dinah's relationship continued to be a treat. These two have fantastic chemistry and their friendship is delightful. I did hope for more texture to their dynamic given the ups and downs of their relationship in Vol. 1 but what I got wasn’t all that disappointing.
Like in Vol. 1 Barbara was given some of the best character moments in the volume. Birds of Prey is very good at doing introspective exploration of the ways Barbara’s life and relationships have changed since to took up the mantle of Oracle. The issue dedicated to Barbara and Dick was a standout in this regard. However, the time and care Barbara gets highlight the comparative lack Dinah has been given so far in this series. While Barbara’s life outside of crimefighting gets significant page time Dinah is rarely given those moments making the series feel unbalanced.
The biggest improvement for this series was without a doubt the art. There was a much more consistent and appealing art style throughout this comic. From what I can tell illustrators Greg Land and Drew Geraci and colourist Gloria Vasquez consistently put out my favourite art in this volume and their style was mimicked pretty well when they weren’t on the creative team.
Birds of Prey Vol. 2 was more of the same, but I had fun with it. The characters were well-realized and the action was a treat.
captwinghead's review
2.0
2.5 stars, if I'm feeling nice.
I've said it before, I can only recommend Gail Simone's volumes of this series. The first volume of Dixon's was meh and this one was worse, somehow. Save one haunting issue, the women are drawn as stereotypically as you'd expect (so thin at times it's a wonder they have any organs). The plots come just this side of almost being progressive before there's some chauvinist storyline to remind you that they are women (being written by men). And it's just... hard.
There were some things I liked: Dinah and Babs' relationship, Dinah finding out more about Babs, Babs going to the circus, Babs and Dinah kicking ass. That's it.
The "Ravens" were so bland I forgot about their arc immediately after it ended. I get that part of it was meant to contrast the trust in Dinah and Babs' partnership but it just made Cheshire look incompetent. I found Bruce's "Big Brother" act annoying. Dick pops in and he's not charming, he's smothering. The last arc with Dinah and the rapey Guy Gardner clone was just disgusting.(And Supes has to save her from him so, go Girl Power! Am I right?)
The Dick of it all was just hard to read.Babs keeps telling him that her life is different now that she's in the chair, but she's found a new life and she's very happy with it. Those are her own words - and for some reason Dick keeps badgering her to say there's things she misses that she can't do now. It'd be one thing if Babs brought it up - but Dick essentially interrogates it out of her and it just seemed like he thought he knew what was best for her, better than Babs knew on her own. That's annoying - that's not cute. It's to set up him taking her to do the trapeze but that whole convo beforehand left such a gross taste in my mouth. Then it ends as though Dick's the victim because Babs won't take a chance and date him again. Which, yet again, is Dick presuming that he knows Babs better than she knows herself. In all my jumping around in reading DC comics, I've only ever read the aftermath of DickBabs where they talk about how they ran their romantic relationship into the ground and in reading this issue of Birds of Prey, I think these two should never try to date ever again. I mean Cetus-Lupeedus, they're awful for each other.
Anyway, there was not enough good to outweigh the meh and the bad definitely outweighed the good so... not a recommend from me.
I've said it before, I can only recommend Gail Simone's volumes of this series. The first volume of Dixon's was meh and this one was worse, somehow. Save one haunting issue, the women are drawn as stereotypically as you'd expect (so thin at times it's a wonder they have any organs). The plots come just this side of almost being progressive before there's some chauvinist storyline to remind you that they are women (being written by men). And it's just... hard.
There were some things I liked: Dinah and Babs' relationship, Dinah finding out more about Babs, Babs going to the circus, Babs and Dinah kicking ass. That's it.
The "Ravens" were so bland I forgot about their arc immediately after it ended. I get that part of it was meant to contrast the trust in Dinah and Babs' partnership but it just made Cheshire look incompetent. I found Bruce's "Big Brother" act annoying. Dick pops in and he's not charming, he's smothering. The last arc with Dinah and the rapey Guy Gardner clone was just disgusting.
The Dick of it all was just hard to read.
Anyway, there was not enough good to outweigh the meh and the bad definitely outweighed the good so... not a recommend from me.
writerlibrarian's review
4.0
Interesting and engaging. It's set in the late 1990s and it shows but it didn't really bother me. I'm looking forward to the next volume. They are reissuing the Dixon series. I'm hoping V.3 comes sometimes this fall.
Oracle and Canary with a few guest stars. I did spend a really good afternoon getting to know this 'verse.
Oracle and Canary with a few guest stars. I did spend a really good afternoon getting to know this 'verse.
depreydeprey's review
3.0
Chuck Dixon loves but doesn't get these characters the way Gail Simone will in later volumes.